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President Donald Trump said that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting would not have happened if there was a White House ballroom.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” he wrote Sunday in a post to Truth Social.
He continued, “This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House.
The president further criticized the recent legal efforts made to stop the project, including the recent order from a federal judge halting its construction.
“The ridiculous Ballroom lawsuit, brought by a woman walking her dog, who has absolutely No Standing to bring such a suit, must be dropped, immediately. Nothing should be allowed to interfere with with its construction, which is on budget and substantially ahead of schedule!!!” he concluded.
Having cited the lack of an indoor event space within the White House, President Trump proposed the ballroom as a way to host larger gatherings.
The ballroom is a planned 90,000-square-foot structure located where the East Wing formerly lay. It is reportedly being entirely funded by private donations, the New York Times reported.
The president’s calls for a ballroom follow a shooting at the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Second Lady Usha Vance were immediately rushed out of the ballroom by Secret Service at the Washington Hilton, soon followed by cabinet officials and members of Congress.
The alleged suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, a California teacher, was reportedly armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives when he rushed by a security checkpoint and roan towards the ballroom. He exchanged gunfire with law enforcement before he was subdued and taken into custody, NBC News reported.
Shortly before the attack, Allen allegedly sent a note to family members and school members apologizing for what he planned to do. In his note, he confirmed that he was targeting the president and members of his administration, per NBC.
